Criminal activity imposes huge costs on black residents in low-income neighbourhoods of cities such as Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, St. Louis, Philadelphia and many others.
Thousands of black Americans were murdered in 2019. Over 90% of the time, the perpetrator was also black. Leftists and social justice warriors charge that what blacks have to fear most is being shot and killed by police, but the numbers don’t add up.
For several years, The Washington Post has been documenting police shootings in America. Last year, 933 people were shot and killed by police. Twenty-three percent (212) of people shot and killed were black; 35% (331) were white; 16% (155) were Hispanic and 201 were of other or unknown races. The high homicide rate within the black community doesn’t begin to tell the full tragedy.
Crime imposes a hefty tax on people who can least afford it. They are the law-abiding residents of black neighbourhoods. Residents must bear the time cost and other costs of having to shop outside of their neighbourhoods. Supermarkets that are abundant in low-crime neighbourhoods are absent or scarce in high-crime, low-income neighbourhoods.
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Jack’s Note: This is just the tip of the iceberg. The true costs of crime are astounding if you include police investigative costs, court costs to prosecute offenders and all the other ‘incidental’ expenses to deal with the problems. Even a broken window can cost taxpayers thousands if you include jailing the offender, police costs on a case by case basis, legal expenses in court and penal service expenses. If you want to bring on an early coronary give this experiment a try. Pick any crime story and then start detailing the costs of EVERYTHING (and I mean ‘everything’). Then call an ambulance. You’ll need it.
